Improved production of succinic acid from Basfia succiniciproducens growing on A. donax and process evaluation through material flow analysis

Abstract

BackgroundDue to its wide range of applications in the food, pharmaceutical and chemical fields, microbial synthesis of succinic acid is receiving growing attention, generating already relevant industrial results, as well as fueling constant research for improvements. In order to develop a sustainable process, a special focus is now set on the exploitation and conversion of lignocellulosic biomasses into platform chemicals.ResultsIn the present work we used Basfia succiniciproducens BPP7 in separated hydrolysis and fermentation experiments with Arundo donax as starting material. Fed-batch strategies showed a maximal production of about 37 g/L of succinic acid after 43 h of growth and a productivity of 0.9 g/L h on the pilot scale. Global mass balance calculations demonstrated a hydrolysis and fermentation efficiency of about 75%. Moreover, the application of a material flow analysis showed the obtainment of 88.5 and 52 % of succinic acid, per kg of virgin biomass and on the total generated output, respectively.ConclusionsThe use of fed-batch strategies for the growth of B. succiniciproducens on A. donax improved the titer and productivity of succinic acid on pre-pilot scale. Process evaluation through material flow analysis showed successful results and predicted a yield of succinic acid of about 30% in a fed-batch process that uses A. donax as only carbon source also in the feed. Preliminary considerations on the possibility to achieve an energetic valorization of the residual solid coming from the fermentation process were also carried out.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s13068-019-1362-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A novel biocatalyst, Enterobacter aerogenes LU2, for efficient production of succinic acid using whey permeate as a cost-effective carbon source

“…Until recently, succinate was commercially produced from n-butane through maleic anhydrate by a chemical process requiring the use of costly catalysts, and this process contributed to environmental problems [7,8]. Therefore, because of pollution-reducing standards and global trends towards rational waste biomass management, the establishment of sustainable processes for the microbial production of SA from renewable feedstock has become a focal point of global interest [9][10][11].…”

“…At present, several biotech companies and joint ventures that have appeared over the past few years, including Bio-Amber/Mitsui, Myriant, Succinity (BASF/ Corbion-Purac) and Reverdia (DSM/Roquette), have already initiated the microbial production of SA, which is considered one of the fastest-growing markets. The expected market size for bio-based succinate is estimated at 700,000 tons/year for 2020 [10][11][12].…”

“…Recently, a great deal of effort has been devoted to establishing biotechnological processes based on inexpensive, abundant and renewable raw substrates, including diverse lignocellulosic biomasses [10,11,16]. However, as reported by Cimini et al [11], the biggest challenge is the extraction of fermentable sugars from complex cellulosic and hemicellulose matrices with high sugar yields. Szymanowska-Powałowska et al [17] also claimed that the pretreatment of cellulose biomass is complex and costly.…”

Influence of the Initial Sugar Concentration and Supplementation with Yeast Extract on the Succinic Acid Fermentation from Lactose Based Medium

“…Consequently, succinic acid fermentation could be used as a method to reduce the amount of industrial carbon dioxide emissions. The possibility to connect industrially produced carbon dioxide and succinic acid fermentation has been demonstrated, for example by [12] and [13].…”

A Genomic Perspective on the Potential of Wild-Type Rumen Bacterium Enterobacter sp. LU1 as an Industrial Platform for Bio-Based Succinate Production

“…Compared with petrochemical synthesis, biotechnological production of SA is characterized by high efficiency, low cost, and renewability of substrates [2]. Therefore, a sustainable, ecofriendly process for microbial production of SA from renewable feedstock has become a focal point of global interest [9][10][11][12].…”